Our 22nd Quarterly Shear Madness Costuming Challenge was “Welcome to the Dark Side” which was all about costumes with a goth or villainous edge.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the Welcome to the Dark Side challenge:
WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE: THIRD PLACE WINNER
“Prudence Night from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” by Bethany Padron
“Prudence is the leader of the ‘mean girls’ from the Academy of Unseen Arts and vamps about in high goth, low key Victorian dresses. This dress was made from dyed knit fabric. I pieced together salvaged bridal trim on organza to make the collar and cuffs. The wig came with a small wave that I styled it into a tight finger wave and airbrushed in the roots.”
Judges’ Comments*
“It stayed close to the source and seems to have a good finished look. As someone who can never get a collar to lay correctly, her collar is amazing.”
WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE: SECOND PLACE WINNER
“Mephala, the Deadric Prince of Lies, Secrets and Murder from the Elder Scroll Franchise” by Bethany Padron
“The inspiration is from MarkoTheSketchGuy and I spun some glam into it. It started out as a slightly different costume with simpler construction and more autumnal feel in color, but when I got it back, I decided to do it all the way.”
“The headdress was built on a felt cap, out of wired foam core board. I covered it with black silicone and beaded it with ‘aurora’ blend seed beads to make it look like spider eye texture. The web strands are party door curtains I chopped up and draped over the spires and stitched into the seams to make the arm drapes and cobweb look. The bodice is covered in airbrushed “carapace” pieces with a jacket over top that has the extra arms and shoulder spines sew into it. The skirt is a super mermaid cut with plumbing vinyl to keep it flared at the hem.”
“After the main construction was done, I went back and clipped and draped the webstrands and tacked them into pleasing lines and finally distressed the main fabric and mesh with a soldering iron to get the veiny lines and crisp burnout holes. Finally, I added some spiders hanging out on all around. The biggest challenge was figuring out how and what order to get dressed with the extra width of appendages and headpiece.”
Judges’ Comments*
“That headpiece is fantastic”
“I have no idea what is going on here, but it’s dark and cool”
WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE: FIRST PLACE WINNER
“Mother Malkin Crawls Out of the Pit” by Carol Lewis
“This is my interpretation of Mother Malkin from 7th Son.”
“I took the costume to more Victorian than the movie, based on descriptions in the book.”
“The entire outfit minus the shoes, wig, and gloves are made by me, I did all the braiding of the wig, and for the gloves I designed and 3d printed claws that are attached.”
Judges’ Comments*
“I love this costume. All the pieces coordinate with the other pieces, and together make a really well made and well thought out outfit.”
“I don’t know what is going on with that spine plate but it looks amazing…Lots of careful work in the wig. It’s a balanced well-assembled ensemble.”
“A lot of this costume is impressive, but taking the time to braid a wig is what really impresses me! I like how it is a head to toe look. It’s hair, makeup, shoes, dress, everything.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS OF THE “WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE” CHALLENGE!
*The order of the judges’ comments has been randomized for each entry.
Each Challenge has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Honorable Mentions are granted to costumes with notable characteristics, interesting techniques, unique designs, etc. even if they did not win a numbered placement. The challenge judges may also award a Judges’ Choice Award in recognition of that entry’s excellent use of materials, show of skill, or unique concept. Such an award is similar in rank to a 1st place award.
We are always excited to see the talented artists of Shear Madness share their creations with us. We want to see what you’ve made, too! Shear Madness Challenges are open to all costumers of all skill levels and genres. Entering is always free and winners get nifty digital badges to display on their websites, blogs, Facebook Profiles, or anywhere else. They are called “Challenges” because the aim is to challenge yourself to et inspired, make your design dreams a reality, try a new technique, and take pride in your artistic accomplishments. Check out past challenges and challenge winners by clicking the “Past Challenges” link at the top of the page to see all the other fabulous creations from the past 5+ years!
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